Grotzec Condensed Font Family

The Grotzec Condensed family was designed back in 1998 for Surf Portugal magazine while I was the magazine’s art director and it was released in in 2004 by FTF.

The typeface was inpired on early European grotesque types found in late 19th century posters and advertising pieces. In the beginning only five weights were designed.While it does not move very far from the source models, Grotzec Condensed carries some formal aspects that help to differentiate it from the typical grotesque styles. The use of rounded curves on the outside of the letters and ‘square’ curves on the inside of the shapes, like you can see on the letter ‘R’ and in lowercase letters such as b, d, p and q, gives the typeface a subtle but efficient humanistic twist, as the rounded top curve joins the straight vertical line in a different way as the bottom curve does this creates a smooth calligraphic feeling that is not usually present in grotesque fonts and this makes the process of reading more enjoyable. The new italics are a slanted version of the upright besides the letter f as the only reference to 'true' italics. Grotzec Condensed contains an extended character set supporting most of Latin based languages. It also includes tabular figures, fractions, small figures, arrows and other useful symbols.